Various systems are known for supporting loads on roofs, and for installing skylights and/or smoke vents into roofs.
The most commonly used skylighting systems are those which incorporate translucent or transparent closure members, also referred to herein as lenses, into a framework which penetrates the roof support structure and may be supported from within the building, with the result that the skylight closure member transmits ambient daylight into the building.
In the past, roof penetrating installations have required a complex structure beneath the exterior roofing panels and inside the building enclosure in order to support a roof curb to which the skylight lens was attached. Conventional skylight curbs are generally in the form of a preassembled box structure, which is mounted within a roof aperture. The retrofitting of such curb systems into an existing roof structure is problematic in that all known conventional structures have a tendency to leak water when subjected to rain.
In today's world of mandated energy efficiency in all types of buildings, the metal building industry needs a more effective way to support skylights and smoke vents, thus to bring daylight into buildings, as well as a more effective way to support a variety of other loads on roofs which have ribs extending the lengths of the metal panels which serve as the outer surfaces of such roofs.
In order to obtain adequate daylighting, conventional skylight and smoke vent installations require multiple roof apertures which extend, cut through and remove plural major elevations, also referred to herein as ribs, in standing seam and other roof panel profiles to make room for corresponding multiple curbs which are conventionally used to support such skylight or smoke vent installations. These multiple curbs, each around a separate roof aperture, create multiple opportunities for water to enter the interior of the building, due to multiple apertures and the widths of the curbs, thus the cuts through the multiple ribs, as well as presenting the challenge to effectively seal the roof at the high ends of such curbs.
The traditional curb constructions and methods of attachment in most cases thus require that a complicated support structure be installed below the roof panel and inside the building enclosure, which can restrict the relative movement of the roof panels and the curb, as associated with thermal expansion and contraction of the overlying metal roof due to temperature changes and the like.
None of the prior art approaches have been able to provide an installation system for multiple skylights which accomplishes the goals of economy and simplicity of installation and which works equally well for new buildings and as retrofits in existing buildings.